Anchor for tombstones



Patented Sept. l3

No. 6l0,529.

W. C. GILBERT.

ANCHOR FOR TUMBSTONES.

(Application filed Mar. 3, 1898.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT O FICE.

WINFIELD C. GILBERT, OF UNION BRIDGE, MARYLAND.

ANCHOR FOR TOMBSTONES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 610,529, dated September 13, 1898.

Application filed March 3, 1898. Serial No. 672,425. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WINFIELD O. GILBERT, a citizen of.the United States, residing at Union Bridge, in the county of Carroll and State of Maryland, have invented a new and useful Anchor for Tombstones, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to devices for anchoring tombstones in the earth.

The object of the invention is to provide means whereby tombstones at the head and foot of a grave may be connected together by an anchor buried under the surface of the earth in such manner that their distance apart will be properly regulated and preserved and they will be held against leaning, falling, or being twisted out of alinement.

WVith this object in view my invention consists in a tombstone-anchor comprising two plates of metal provided with means for connecting them together in any desired longitudinal adjustment, provided at their outer ends with upright flanges to embrace the outer sides of the head and foot stones, and angular brackets adapted to be adj ustably secured upon the upper faces of the metal plates, whereby their upright flanges may be forced into contact with the inner sides of the head and foot stones, screws being provided to pass through the upright flanges of the metal plates and brackets into the head and foot stones to rigidly secure them in position.

My invention further consists in the improved construction, arrangement, and combination of parts hereinafter fully described, and afterward specifically pointed out in the appended claim.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention most nearly appertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective View illustrating a tombstone-anchor constructed in accordance with my invention, the head and foot stones being illustrated in position in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section through the anchor and tombstones,the earth level being indicated by a dotted line. Fig.

3 is a top plan view of the anchor and tombstones connected together.

Like letters of reference mark the same parts wherever they occur in the different figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings by letters, A and B indicate two plates or bars of metal adapted to overlap each other at their inner ends, the overlapping ends being provided with registering perforations A and B to receive screws 0 to secure them rigidly together in any desired adjustment. At their outer ends the plates A and B are provided with upwardturned flanges D.

F and H indicate brackets longitudinally slotted, as at F and H, and provided with upturned flanges G and I at their outer ends. Screws J and K, passing through the slots F and H, serve to permit of the adjustment longitudinally of the brackets F and H and to secure the brackets in position to clamp the base of the head and foot stones L and M.

Screws N are passed through the end flanges D and E of the metal plates A and B into the outside of the base of the head and foot stones, while screws 0 pass through the upright flanges G and I of the brackets F and Hinto the inside of the base of the head and foot stones.

The construction of my invention will be readily understood from the foregoing de scription, and its operation may be described as follows: The grave having been filled nearly full, the plates A and B are laid on the top of the filling-earth and adjusted to the proper length by means of the registering perforations A and B and the screws 0 in a well-known manner. The brackets F and H are now adjusted sufficiently far inward to permit of the placing of the headstone and footstone on the top of the plates A and B in contact with the inner faces of the upright flanges D and E. The brackets F and H are now adjusted outward until their angular flanges G and I rest against the inner faces of the bases of the head and foot stones and secured in such adjusted position by means of the screws J and K. The screws N and O are now turned into the holes prepared to receive them in the bases of the tombstones, thus securely fastening the stones to the an* chor. The filling of the tomb is now com pleted, the earth rising to about the level of the dotted line P in Fig. 2, leaving nothing exposed above the surface of the earth except the tombstones, which will be rigidly held against displacement.

While I have illustrated and described what I now consider to be the best means for carrying out my invention, I do not Wish to be understood as restricting myself to the exact details of construction shown and described, but hold that any slight changes or variations, such as might suggest themselves to the ordinary mechanic, would properly fall Within the limit and scope of my invention.

. Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

A tombstone-anchor consisting of two plates of metal connected at their inner ends for longitudinal adjustment and provided on their WINFIELD O. GILBERT.

Witnesses:

ROBERT T. RITES, ELI HILTABIDLE. 

